Did you know that the eastern mole (Scalopus aquaticus), so prevalent in Kentucky lawns, gardens and pastures, is not a rodent? The mole belongs to the order of mammals called Insectivores, the insect eaters. Their food is chiefly earthworms, but they also feed on grubs, ants, beetles, slugs, snails, spiders, and centipedes etc. In other words, to control moles by removing their food source, you would need an almost sterile soil. The mole seldom eats vegetable matter but causes its damage by uprooting turf, vegetables or other plants.

Feeder cattle markets opened 2010 a bit stronger than they closed 2009, and got some nice support from USDA's annual crop production summary during the second week of January.

Estimates surprised the markets, placing the 2009 corn crop larger than 2007’s record level. CME corn contracts traded down about $0.40 per bushel in the days that followed, and have trended further down since then. Kentucky feeder cattle prices moved up by $5-$10 per cwt from their pre-Christmas levels and have been further supported by improved fed cattle prices.

When planning your activities for summer break, don’t forget to add a 4-H summer camp to the list.

Kentucky 4-H summer camps offer an array of activities for young people. They can catch everything from fish to butterflies; identify trees and critters during nature hikes; learn to swim; use a canoe; take part in shooting sports; make arts and crafts and participate in challenge courses. Youth will also have the chance to sing and dance, make new friends and have fun.

Now is the second best time of year to sow grass seed for lawn establishment. You can go ahead and do this from now through early April. The best time to establish a lawn is September, provided that we have adequate rainfall.

The winter of 2010 will be remembered and talked about by most of us for years to come as the winter of lots of snow and frigid temperatures. When Canada can’t seem to get cold enough for the Winter Olympics, Kentucky seems to be in a perpetual deep freeze. The forecast for the upcoming weekend is for more snow. When we look out the window, it’s not if we are going to see snow, it’s how much snow are actually going to see!

The float-bed system is a convenient and efficient way to produce tobacco transplants. One drawback to this method is the potential for significant disease development. Large numbers of plants packed into a small, water-filled area create conditions in which many diseases thrive.

Every good gardener has noticed that seed catalogs are continually showing up in their mailboxes and seed and garden hardware are in full display at garden centers and department stores. Many of you are like me, you have seeds left from last year and an eye for more plants than your garden can hold. Don’t buy new seeds just yet. There is a good chance that your old seeds will still germinate even if they were stored in the cupboard. Most vegetable and flower seeds are still viable after several years.